


To a Brand-New World

by VampirePaladin



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (Musicals), Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magika | Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Tokyo Mew Mew, Wedding Peach, Winx Club, スマイルプリキュア! | Smile PreCure!
Genre: Crossover Pairings, F/F, Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Not Rebellion Story Compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-09
Updated: 2013-11-09
Packaged: 2017-12-31 21:56:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,196
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VampirePaladin/pseuds/VampirePaladin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hotaru is told to take the Silver Crystal and flee from a battle that the Sailor Senshi are losing.  An attack shatters the Silver Crystal and the pieces fall into different worlds.  Worlds collide in the search for the pieces of the Silver Crystal.</p>
            </blockquote>





	To a Brand-New World

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DarkSeraphim](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkSeraphim/gifts).



> I chose to pull Sailor Saturn from the musical continuity partly because I didn't want to destroy the anime and manga universes and partly because I wanted an excuse for her to still be in her basic fuku (Saturn never went super in the musicals). The title comes from one of Saturn's solo songs.  
> http://youtu.be/0NyHaShlhwQ  
>    
> Winx Club is set mid first season and is based on the Cinelume dub.
> 
> Tokyo Mew Mew is based on the anime and is after it, but before the events of A La Mode would happen if they had happened in the anime continuity.
> 
> Madoka Magica is post series and is not written to be in continuity with Rebellion Story.

They were losing. Really, that was the only thing that mattered. The Sailor Senshi had fought many enemies from both the Earth and from beyond the stars. In the past it always ended with them standing triumphant at the dawn of a new day. Now, it seemed like this world would never see another morning ever again.

Incantations were shouted at the top of their lungs. The elements were at their beck and call. They used them well and the crushing waves of youma fell to their might, but behind each wave there was another and yet another. 

The Sailor Senshi stood in a circle facing out. Their princess was in the middle, a beacon of light in this twilight. She had the Silver Crystal. It floated between her hands under its own power. It flickered and flashed as she continued to use it on and on.

No one noticed when the first of them fell, but she was soon joined by one of her friends. It wasn’t until one of the living stepped on the dead that they noticed their numbers were dwindling. There was no time to mourn. All that could be done was to shove the dead weight away so no one would trip over it. 

“Princess,” Sailor Saturn screamed as Serenity faltered and sunk to her knees.

A bolt of black magic hurled toward Serenity. Saturn turned her back on her opponents and with glaive in hand she rushed to her side.

“Silent Wall!” The energy hit the shield. Saturn was weak from hours of fighting and her barrier fell after only a second of two. The attack hit the princess.

“No.” Saturn put an arm around Serenity, the one that she wasn’t holding her glaive with.

“Sailor Saturn,” Serenity whispered, wincing in pain as she spoke.

“Yes, princess?”

“There is something I need you to do for me.”

“Anything.”

“Take the Silver Crystal somewhere far away from here. Don’t let them get their hands on it.”

“But-“

“Hotaru, please, I want to be just Usagi right now, but I can’t when I know they are going to just take the Silver Crystal and use it in their conquest.”

Sailor Saturn nodded, “I will. I won’t let anyone have it.”

Princess Serenity held out the Silver Crystal. Saturn almost dropped her glaive as she maneuvered it around to have a hand free to take the precious gem. White gloved fingers closed tightly around it. Dim light feebly slipped out. The beautiful white dress dissolved and it was replaced by a teenager’s clothing.

“Thank you, Hotaru,” Usagi said with a soft, sad smile. She was doing everything she could to hold back tears.

A comforting hand was placed on Saturn’s shoulder. She turned her head to see Sailor Pluto. Her lips were firmly pressed closed in a line.

“Saturn, take the Key of Space-Time. Find some place safe.”

“But Chibiusa is…”

“I will find Small Lady.” Pluto hugged Saturn tight. “Go now, the last of us will buy you time.”

“Goodbye,” Saturn said. She held the Silver Crystal and the Key of Space-Time tight as she took off running through an opening. 

A youma swiped at her.

“Dead Scream,” Pluto whispered. She wouldn’t let any of them touch Saturn for as long as she could see her.

“Setsuna, I’m sorry,” Usagi said, rising to her feet.

“I’m not. Hotaru will survive.”

“I’ll help. I hope my brooch will let me transform without the Silver Crystal.”

Usagi raised her hand to the heavens, called upon the moon for power and then transformed.

 

Mami had been in a deep sleep when the shockwave rocked her apartment. She was up, out of bed and ready to transform if she needed to. Her Soul Gem glowed brightly and illuminated her way to the window. She reached out with her left hand and pushed the lace curtains aside. A shooting star was crossing her window from left to right. It was going down and down until it was gone. She could barely see the flash of light as it hit the ground over the light of the city. The fact that she did see it meant that it must have crashed inside the city or else right outside of it.

She let the curtain fall back into place and moved to her closet. It was probably just a meteorite, but something woke her up and that shooting star was the only thing unusual she had noticed. She undressed, leaving her pajamas neatly stacked on her bed, putting on casual clothing. Mami put on a skirt and blouse, slipping shoes on before heading out the door. A quick check to make sure she had everything and then she locked her apartment door.

Navigating Mitakihara was a cinch after hunting demons for so long. The train wasn’t running this late so she was forced to walk. Luckily, Mami knew a shortcut or two. She turned down an alley and saw another girl ahead of her. That long black hair was unmistakable. 

“Akemi,” Mami called out after her.

Homura stopped, pivoted on one foot and turned to face her, black hair blowing around her. She had a new red ribbon in her hair. Mami thought it suited her. Except for occasionally passing each other at school, the two had not seen each other since Sayaka’s death.

“You are going to investigate the meteorite.”

Mami nodded “I am. Did it wake you up?”

“No, I was already up. I felt a shockwave.”

“Then let’s go together.” It was a reasonable suggestion for Mami to make and even just a few weeks ago she was sure that Homura would have agreed without hesitation. However, Homura seemed to change almost overnight when Sayaka died. It was like she wasn’t even the same girl that Mami had met a month ago.

“Alright.”

They moved together, sidestepping drunks and avoiding the occasional police officer. There was a brief encounter with a man that was overly concerned with two students their age being out that late. It only took a quick lie that they were on their way home to get him to leave them alone.

Their journey ended in a quant park on the edge of town. In the middle of the vibrantly green grass was a small crater. A plume of smoke slithered into the air. The two girls moved to the edge of the crater, they moved cautiously, but quickly. 

There was neither rock nor metal in the middle of the crater. The only thing there was a girl in light blue shirt and miniskirt with a small golden crown perched in her fiery hair. More unusual were the wings attached to her back.

Before their eyes, the girl’s clothing and wings disappeared to be replaced with a short top and blue jeans.

 

Ichigo ran down the street with the speed and agility of a cat. She muttered under her breath. Of course she would be called to work at Café Mew Mew when she already had plans and was nowhere near it. Now, she was left with two choices: go the longer way or take the shortcut through an abandoned mansion. There were stories about the mansion being haunted by the ghosts of a scientist and his daughter. The idea of running into a ghost was terrifying for Ichigo, but right now the idea of Mint and Ryou standing over her with demonic eyes was scarier by far.

She turned to head toward the shortcut. Up ahead was an old fence with plants growing on it. The gate was chained and padlocked and a sign announced that the building was condemned. Ichigo couldn’t have made out the old name plate even if she had tried. She pounced up onto the fence and for a moment she was posed elegantly before she jumped down on the other side.

The ground was choked with weeds and half-grown, twisted trees. There was the occasional child’s toy hidden amongst the roots and tall grass. Ichigo ran toward an older, taller tree by the side of the house and climbed up it as if it lying flat on the ground. When she was high enough she ran out onto a thick branch and leapt for the open second story window. She grabbed the ledge with her hands and her feet pushed against the wall until she was up, over the ledge and into the room.

That was how she found herself face to face with the tear streaked face of another girl.

“Ghost!” Ichigo screamed.

 

Bloom woke up in an unfamiliar but comfortable bed. She felt sore. The last thing she could remember was flying home. She had quit Alfea when she had discovered that Brandon, no, when she had discovered that Sky was already engaged to another fairy, that he had been lying to her all this time. Something had hit her during her return trip. She could remember plummeting to the ground, doing everything she could to slow her descent. Then something had changed. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was that had changed, but it had felt like falling through a window.

The light turned on and Bloom had to blink while her eyes adjusted to the light. She sat up. She could see now that the room was cutely decorated with stuffed animals and decorations. It seemed almost like it was too full. Standing in the doorway was a girl who looked about a year younger than Bloom.

The girl said something.

“I’m sorry, I don’t understand you,” Bloom said while shaking her head.

The ring that the girl was wearing flashed softly. “Can you understand me now?” she said in perfect English.

“I can, yes. Where am I? I was trying to get to Gardenia.”

“You are in Mitakihara.”

“Mitakihara? I’ve never heard of that city.”

“I’ve never heard of Gardenia,” she said as she moved closer to the bed and sat on a nearby chair.

“It’s a small town in America.”

“Then you are very lost. This is Japan. Myself and a friend of mine found you unconscious in a crater in a park. You detransformed after we found you. It took some searching but we also found your Soul Gem,” she indicated toward a blue gem sitting on the bedside table.

“Soul Gem? What is that? I’ve never seen that gem before in my life… no, wait, I did see it. That is what hit me while I was returning home.”

“How can you be a magical girl and not know what a Soul Gem is?”

“I’m not a magical girl. I don’t even know what that is. I’m a fairy.”

They locked eyes. This was going to be a very long conversation.

 

It was a hot summer evening. Miyuki, Akane, Yayoi, Nao and Reika were wearing comfortable and lightweight clothing. They had taken advantage of the portals between bookcases to visit Mexico. They had filled their cell phones and digital camera with pictures. Reika supplied everyone with pesos, as she had the forethought to exchange money.

“This was really fun. We should visit more countries like this,” Akane said.

“We should go to Denmark next time.” Miyuki almost had stars in her eyes over the thought of visiting.

Yayoi was looking up at the sky and at the beautiful landscape as the others excitedly discussed plans for their next trip. She brought her camera up to take a picture. This would be a perfect backdrop for the cover of a new issue of Miracle Peace. She snapped the image. There was something in the sky. It didn’t look right to be a star. Maybe it was a planet or the space station? No, this looked like it was getting bigger. Usually, if something was getting bigger that meant that it was getting closer. 

“I think we should run,” Yayoi said. Her voice was oddly calm when you considered how scared she was. This was almost like something out of a manga or comic book, nothing like bullies or Bad End Kingdom.

“What was that, Yayoi?” Akane said. She turned to look at Yayoi and then froze. “Everybody run,” she screamed.

No more urging was necessary. Akane and Yayoi took off running and the other three ran after them. Nao glanced over her shoulder at the object that was definitely heading toward them. 

“Precure Smile Charge!” Nao yelled as she placed the green Décor into the Smile Pact. Nao was replaced with the courageous Cure March. She turned and started running back the direction that she had come from with unnatural speed.

Cure March could feel the wind lifting her up as she gathered energy. “Precure March Shoot!” She kicked the ball of compressed wind into the sky and right at the meteorite. It was nowhere near enough to stop it, but it was more than enough to deflect it just enough. 

The meteorite hit the ground almost a mile away from the girls instead of on top of them.

 

Sailor Saturn had run as fast as she could. She tried not to think about what was happening to her friends and comrades as she abandoned them, because that was what she felt like she was doing even if she had been told to do so. 

When she stepped into the Gate of Time a powerful attack hit her. She didn’t know if it was an attack meant to hit her or a side effect of the battle she left behind. What she did know was that just by a freak of being half inside and half outside that the power was strengthened exponentially where she was. It was all she could do to throw herself forward, into the time stream and away from it. She survived in one piece. The Silver Crystal wasn’t so lucky. She had watched in horror as it split into seven pieces, each a different color of the rainbow. Six fell into other worlds with a distant explosion. The seventh she had managed to grab onto. Desperately, she had called for the pieces to come back but those cries went unheeded.

Without thinking about it, she ran after one of them until she found herself in a world that was both extremely similar to her own and yet the little differences threw her off just enough. Instead of posters for Minako or the Three Lights there were posters for a girl named Zakuro. Familiar homes and stores were gone, replaced with ones that were similar but not the same as the ones she knew.

She had detransformed and searched but had not found anything except for a rundown mansion so similar but so different than the one she had lived in with her father. It was abandoned, so she snuck in and found the place that was somewhat like her old bedroom. Sleep escaped her as her thoughts went back to the others, especially Chibi-Usa. She didn’t want to cry, but she did.

That was when the girl came in a window, screamed and ran away. Now, hours later, she was back. In hand was a white box, the kind that pastries were sold in.

“Hi, I’m Momomiya Ichigo. I wanted to say ‘sorry’ about screaming at you.” Ichigo smiled as she held the box out. “I work part-time at a café, so I brought you some cake to apologize.”

“Thank you,” Hotaru said softly as she took the box. She was so drained that she didn’t have it in her to be much louder. Sitting down with her back against the wall and the box on her lap, she opened it up.

Sitting in there were three pieces of cake, each had cute white frosting and a strawberry on top. She used the plastic fork that Ichigo handed her and took a small bite. The cake was sweet, but not overly so. This was the first thing she had eaten in hours. She ate more and more at a rate that would impress even Usagi. 

Ichigo sat down next to Hotaru, “So, what’s your name?”

“Tomoe Hotaru.”

“Why are you out so late, Hotaru? Maybe you should head home? I bet your parents are worried about you.”

Hotaru said nothing. She bit her lip to prevent another sob. Her small body was shaking with the effort. How could Ichigo even begin to understand what she had gone through?

“If you don’t want to talk about it then that is alright too,” Ichigo said a bit too quickly. “I can bring you something to eat again tomorrow after school.”

“I don’t have anything to give you.”

“It’s alright.”

This time Hotaru did start crying. Ichigo was just too much like Chibi-Usa.

Ichigo sat there as Hotaru cried. She didn’t know her well enough to comfort her, but she couldn’t just leave someone who was crying. So she just stayed there.

 

The four Love Angels had heard about the mysterious meteorite on the news. Each of them had felt it when it appeared. After some coordinating phone calls they agreed to search for it. It was probably nothing, but they had spent long enough fighting devils to ignore even the slightest premonition.

After getting off the phone with Scarlett, Yuri ran up to the steps to take her to the roof of the apartment building. The wind whipped her skirt against her legs as she shut the door behind her. As she raised her hand up to the heavens she concentrated on her transformation. A ribbon shot around her and she was clothed in a pale blue wedding dress that was as light as a feather. The beautiful dress then shredded off her of body to reveal her blue Fighting Angel form.

The feathered wings extended out from the back and Angel Lily took off into the sky. She was responsible for searching to the south. Her wings kept her high above the city as she scanned below her. The sun was setting if they didn’t find it soon then they would have to give up until after school the next day.

It was right before she was about to give up that she spotted it in a parking lot. She would have thought that it would have made a bigger crater, but it was only a few feet across. Even odder was that there wasn’t a single person near it. When she landed on the black pavement her high heels only made the slightest of sounds. Her wings retracted until they were merely ornate decorations on her back, they wouldn’t get in her way at this size.

She walked up to the edge and looked in. The only thing inside was an indigo gem of some sort. She held out her hand and her whip appeared. With one swing she wrapped it around the jewel and pulled it out, catching it in her hand. It was cool even though the crater was still smoking.

“Lily,” Wedding Peach called out.

Lily turned toward the sound of her friend’s voice. Peach had been in charge of searching to the east. Lily raised a hand to wave. Wedding Peach flickered for a moment and then vanished.

“Peach!”

It was not just Wedding Peach that had disappeared. It was no longer sunset, it was noon. The parking lot was gone, replaced with a park. 

Lily took off into the sky and began searching. The fashions were different, the cars were different, even the cell phones were different, being much smaller than hers. 

Where in the world was she?

 

Everything was so very interesting. Kyubey had never seen anything like this happen before. As it moved about the Earth it found patches of different alternate realities. It counted five total. Each was at a different year, date and even time of day. The range of years spanned almost two decades.

Kyubey would not admit it to the humans, but it did develop one emotion during its work on Earth. Saying you had a mental illness to the magical girls would decrease the likelihood of contracting, so it usually neglected to mention that part. The one emotion Kyubey could feel was curiosity. 

It had thought it sensed a member of its species. Kyubey did find something vaguely similar to an Incubator. It called itself Candy and said _she_ wanted to be friends. Their evolutionary paths must have greatly diverged or _she_ must have a very severe case of emotions. Kyubey would have to gain a physical sample later for further testing after it was done checking out the more interesting thing.

It could sense something like a Soul Gem, yet not. In fact it sensed several of them, but most felt distant and muffled. So, it went toward the one it could feel clearly.

Kyubey ended up in Belgium. There was a crater there, like it expected there would be. In the middle of it was an orange gem. It pounced into the crater.

Yes, there was definitely power inside of this gem. The gem did not seem to want to respond to it. 

Perhaps it would respond in the vicinity of another one? One of the other ones was in Mitakihara. That is where Akemi Homura, Sakura Kyouko and Tomoe Mami were. Out of the three it was reasonable to assume at least one had noticed and gathered the gem, which is what it most likely was, that had landed there.

 

Hotaru woke up on an old mattress. The sun was an unwelcome guest after her night of uneasy sleep. She forced herself to sit up. Her clothing was wrinkled and her hair was a mess, but she didn’t exactly have anything to fix either problem. Searching the mansion for clothing or a brush was an option, but it was one that she was a little uncomfortable with. 

What if she found an old picture of the Hotaru of this world and her father? What if she didn’t? No, there were things more important than her own discomfort, like finding the pieces of the Silver Crystal.

In the end Hotaru did search the mansion until she found a comb and a dress. She changed into the mint green clothing and brushed her hair so fast that she missed many tangles. Hotaru double checked that she safely had the violet gem before she left on her search. 

She felt a little guilty just leaving knowing that Ichigo would be coming by later with food for her, but there really wasn’t any choice. Hotaru needed to find that gem and she needed to find it fast.

With some practice and great concentration, she discovered that the gem would subtly pulse more or less as she went certain directions. So she went in whatever directions that the pulse felt strongest. This being a modern city that was easier said than done. 

Hotaru had to backtrack, make guesses, trespass and even occasionally ask for directions. It was very slow going but over time the pulsing grew stronger. She spent most of the day at her task. Her mind was solely focused on the gem and where she was going.

She almost didn’t notice the screams. They were familiar, almost nostalgic. It was the unmistakable screaming of civilians encountering a monster. Some things were just consistent in all worlds.

A quick glance around to make sure the coast was clear and then Hotaru raised her hand up.

“Saturn Planet Power, Make Up!”

 

“This cake is the best I have ever had,” Bloom said as she set the fork down on the delicate plate. There were only crumbs left to keep it company.

“Thank you, I don’t get to share it with guests often enough.” Mami spoke with a small smile curling at the edges of her lips. Homura and Kyouko didn’t come over nearly enough.

The two had a very long conversation about fairies and magical girls. Both believed the other, especially when they could easily transform and use magic to prove their claims. They had tried to contact Bloom’s parents in Gardenia, but the phone number didn’t work. When they looked up the city online there were no records of anyplace that matched Bloom’s description.

“You said there were multiple planets and dimensions, right? Is it possible you were knocked into one when the gem hit you?”

“It’s possible, I guess.”

“You don’t sound very sure of yourself.”

“I didn’t even know about magic until a few months ago. I haven’t even finished my first year of school yet.”

“It must be wonderful to practice and learn with others like yourself.”

“Magical girls don’t do that?”

“No, sometimes they work together in small teams, but for the most part we are territorial and don’t get along well. Meetings between magical girls often end up in bloodshed.”

“That sounds horrible. It almost reminds me of witches.”

 _Witches._ That would just felt so dirty to Mami and she didn’t know why.

“We have all this magic between us and we still don’t have any type of clue about how I can get back home.”

“That is because multiple realities are crashing into each other,” a voice said in their heads.

“Bloom, I want you to meet my dear friend Kyubey. Kyubey, this is Bloom.” 

A white cat-like creature that wasn’t there before was now sitting on the edge of the table. Sitting in front of its paws was an orange jewel, identical to the one that hit Bloom.

“Hey, that jewel is just like the other one,” Bloom said.

Mami picked up the orange one and looked it over. It was a perfectly normal looking jewel. It had a subtle beat that Mami could feel more than she could hear.

“I’ll get the blue one.” Bloom got up and walked into the bedroom. She returned with the other jewel in hand. 

Both were now flashing with an inner light to their inner heartbeats. After a few beats either one speed up or the other slowed down because the two flashing jewels went from being out of sync to being perfectly in sync. The light grew brighter and brighter.

“You should probably move them,” the two girls vanished along with the jewels, “further apart,” Kyubey said.

There was an old human saying that Kyubey thought would perfectly fit in this situation. How did it go again? Oh, yeah. _Oops!_

 

“For the sake of the Earth’s future, I’ll be of service, nya!” Mew Ichigo said as she struck a catlike pose.

It was great that Quiche and the other aliens had returned home, but they really should have done a better job with cleaning up their supplies. It looked like the Chimera Anima had merged with some type of jewel. Mew Ichigo thought maybe it was an emerald based on the green color.

She leapt up into the air, bounced off of one of its jewel cut arms and slashed at its head with her claws. There was no contested in speed between the catgirl and the moster, there was also no contest between claws and a jewel skin.

Mew Ichigo bounced away and landed in a crouch. Physical attacks were out of the question. It would have been nice if the others were around, but she couldn’t have just left the monster alone when she found it attacking people.

“Reborn Strawberry Check!”

It faced her and took the attack head on, but with the right side just a little further back. The attack had no effect, but now Ichigo was paying more attention to the side it kept further away. There was a hairline crack on the right side. It was running vertically from its head down to its thick chest. A single concentrated attack to that spot might destroy it. It was a shame that Mew Ichigo’s attack was a more of a spread out, full body attack. If Mint or Zakuro were around then one of the two of them could hit it with enough force without breaking a sweat.

“My guardian is the planet of silence. I'm the soldier of death and rebirth, Sailor Saturn!”

Great timing! Just when she was thinking she needed help here came her good friend… Sailor Saturn? Who the heck was that?

“Who are you?” Sailor Saturn asked.

“I’m Mew Ichigo.”

The monster swung its first. It was going to smash the girl that attacked it.

“Silent Wall!”

The fist bounced off of the purple and black barrier. It had to take an automatic step backwards.

“Can you do a pinpoint attack with your spear?”

“Yes, and it’s a glaive.”

“Go for the crack on the right. I’ll keep it busy.”

Mew Ichigo scampered forward, dropping to all fours as she crouched, dodged, jumped and ran. She would get right up to it and claw at it and then get out of the way before it could grab at her.

Saturn watched the monster until she found the crack and then until she had an opening. With a short running jump, she thrust the point of her glaive into it, digging it in like an old can opener.

“Silence Glaive Surprise!”

The jewel skin cracked from the inside. 

“My turn, nya. Reborn Strawberry Check!”

Saturn yanked her weapon out and dived out of the way of the attack. The Chimera Anima easily fell to the purifying light with its skin cracked wide open. The parasite separated from a green jewel and a small flying pink puffball ate the parasite.

Sailor Saturn moved to catch the jewel before it fell but Mew Ichigo was faster. When she caught the green jewel it glowed. The violet one Saturn owned as began to glow. Both girls vanished as the beating lights of their jewels synched up.

“Ichigo? Ichigo?” Masha called out.

 

This part of the library was out of the way and quiet. Yuri sat in a wooden chair. She had newspapers, magazines and contemporary history books spread out in front of her all across the table. If Hinagiku hadn’t been involved in a time travel incident courtesy of the Saint Pendule then Yuri would probably be thinking that she had gone crazy.

She really was eighteen years into the future. Momoko and the others would be old enough to be her mother. The most logical thing to do would be to try and call the others to see if they could help her get back to her own time. Would her phone even work here? Would the others still have the same phone numbers?

Pushing the chair to the side, she stood up. Either she could sit there wondering if anything would work or she could try the numbers. She had some money so she could use a pay phone.

The bookcase behind her glowed a cheerful pink as a portal opened up. Yayoi fell forward, trying to catch herself. She crashed into Yuri’s back. Both fell forward with limbs entangled. Before they could hit either the floor or the table the indigo jewel that Yuri had in her pocket and the yellow one in Yayoi’s hand both flashed together in sudden life and the two girls vanished.

When Reika stepped through the portal there was no one in sight.

 

Six girls, each holding a piece of the Silver Crystal, appeared in a desolate city. The buildings were more piles of rubble than they were anything resembling a structure. There were only a few human bodies. The Sailor Senshi had bought enough time for most people to escape.

“Where am I, nya?”

“Ouch, my feet!”

“Bloom, are you alright?”

“Could you please get off of me?”

“I’m sorry! I’m so, so sorry!”

Five girls spoke all over each other. Only one was silent. She stared around her in wide eyed shock. It was impossible that she was back here. The whole point of her running was to get out of here with the Silver Crystal before he could get his hands on it.

Sailor Saturn sunk to her knees. Her transformation slipped away. She was left as just a normal girl on the ground.

“Hotaru,” Mew Ichigo said. She knelt down next to her. “Are you alright?”

Saturn turned her head but it was still downturned, her eyes were barely visible behind her bangs. “Ichigo? I didn’t recognize you.”

“Yeah, it’s Ichigo.”

“Do you know why we suddenly appeared here?” Bloom asked.

“Did you guys suddenly appear here too?” Yayoi asked as he helped Yuri onto her feet.

“Yes, we were in my apartment when we were teleported here.”

“I was in a library. Something hit me from behind and then I ended up here.”

“I tripped,” Yayoi said almost too softly to be heard.

“I didn’t mean it like that. I thought what I felt was from being brought here, I didn’t realize you fell on me there.”

“And we just beat a monster.”

“Each of you has a jewel, don’t you?” Hotaru’s brain had been moving. Each girl had a jewel in hand. 

Everyone looked down at their jewels. There were six jewels and each was a different color of the rainbow.

“Come on, let’s get under some cover. I’ll explain everything.”

 

The group found part of a building that looked like it was mostly structurally sound. They sat down low and Hotaru told them everything. She told them about Masticate, a being that had been freed from a sacred jar when an earth quake had rocked the museum it was being displayed at. 

Masticate really only had two abilities, but those two abilities were alarmingly powerful. It could eat and it could replicate itself. When it ate it merged with whatever it was consuming, drawing power directly from it and gaining all of its abilities and complete control of it in the process. That was why it was so important to get the Silver Crystal away from it. With that energy it could duplicate itself. The duplicates weren’t as strong as it initially, but as they fed they could grow to be just as powerful as the original. If Masticate had a source of infinite energy like the Silver Crystal then it could grow into a plague that could wipe out life throughout the galaxy.

“So what does that have to do with any of us?” Bloom asked. The others had been outside when pulled here. Mami and herself had been inside with their shoes off. Before Hotaru began her long explanation the two had borrowed a pair each from an abandoned store.

“The jewels that each of you have are each a piece of the Silver Crystal.”

“How many of them are there?” Yuri asked.

“I think there might be seven total,” Yayoi said.

“Why do you think that?” Ichigo asked.

“How could you know something like that? You’ve never encountered the Silver Crystal before,” Hotaru said.

“W-Well, I draw a lot. She has orange,” Yayoi pointed to Mami,” I have yellow, “green,” she pointed at Ichigo, “blue,” she pointed at Bloom, “indigo,” she pointed at Yuri, “and you have violet. All we are missing is red and then we will have the entire rainbow.”

Hotaru thought back to when the Silver Crystal broke and then nodded. “I think you are right. I think I remember seeing six pieces other than the one I grabbed.”

“I’m not against returning the one I have to you. But I think there is another question you need to answer first,” Mami said.

“You want to know if it is possible to go back to your own world, don’t you?” Hotaru looked around at the five girls. They were all leaning in to hear what she said, some more than other. “Yes, I think I can take all of you back.”

“What about Masticate, nya?”

Hotaru shook her head, “I have to make sure the Silver Crystal is far away from it first. There are others that can stop Masticate.” Hotaru tried to hide the uncertainty in her voice. Even though there were other Sailor Senshi none of them were left on this planet. Masticate would devastate the Earth, possible wipe out all life on it, before anyone else would even notice it. “Come on, I can take all of you to the Gates of Time.”

 

“This is kind of scary,” Yayoi said softly.

Yuri took Yayoi’s hand. “Is that better?” 

“Thank you.”

“Going to the Gates of Time never used to be like this.”

Ichigo’s tail twitched. Unlike Hotaru, she didn’t transform back to normal. She sniffed the air and let out a small hiss. The black fur on her ears and tail was standing up on end.

“I smell something.”

“What does it smell like?”

“Like something rotting.”

“It’s Masticate!”

“I was afraid you were going to say that,” Mami said.

“Which direction is it coming from?” Yuri asked.

“I can’t tell. It is like it is coming from all directions at once.”

“We need to hurry,” Hotaru said.

“Hold on, I have an idea. Magic Winx,” Bloom said the last part with her hands crossed. An inner fire welled up and transformed her into a cyan clad fairy. Her wings fluttered and she lifted up. “I can fly above us and watch for anything approaching us.”

The five girls on foot started running while Bloom flew above them. She constantly flitted back and forth, keeping a watch in all directions. Even though they had only recently met, they found it easy to move together. All of them were used to working together in tightly knit teams except for Mami.

“There is something up ahead,” Bloom called down.

“It must be the gates,” Hotaru panted.

As they ran closer and closer it became apparent to all that there was something wrong with the gates. Hotaru’s face went pale. The gates were black and twisted, red eyes glared out from the top. Both sides were open and through them she could see constantly shifting images of different realities. A copy of Masticate dripped onto the ground and took shape. It slithered through the portal.

“That’s the original Masticate,” Hotaru whispered.

“Those are the gates we need to go through, aren’t they?” Yayoi asked.

Hotaru nodded.

“We have to destroy it for the sake of the Earth’s future, nya.”

“You don’t understand. If the gates are destroyed then none of you can go home.”

“You said Masticate replicates itself. We just saw it do that and then send a copy through. If we don’t stop it here then you can’t hide the Silver Crystal and all of our worlds would be in danger as well,” Yuri said.

“I would be a poor senior magical girl if I left Akemi and Sakura to deal with the ones that came through when I could stop it here.”

“We have magic. We can find another way home,” Bloom said.

“We have to protect everyone’s smile,” Yayoi said.

Hotaru looked from girl to girl. Each had a familiar shining determination in their eyes. She had seen that look before in Usagi, Rei, Ami, Minako, Makoto, Setsuna, Haruka, Michiru and especially Chibi-Usa. There was no real reason for them to help here. They weren’t friends, classmates, or even from the same world. There was something else that they all shared.

“It is still weak from fighting before. Now is our best chance before it has a chance to start creating an army of duplicates again. Everyone, transform!”

Words were called out. Magical relics were used and in a bright display of lights the four girls transformed.

Cure Peace raised her hand up into the air. Her fingers made a peace sign. Lightning crackled down and hit her fingers. She grimaced in pain but did not cry out. She gathered the lightning up and then launched it toward Masticate. The yellow jewel glowed.

Yellow ribbons created enough rifled muskets to arm a small military unit. Mami grabbed two and fired each one handed at Masticate. When they were spent she threw them away and summoned more. The orange jewel began to glow. 

Bloom threw fireballs, burning copies of Masticate away as fast as they could drip onto the ground. The air around her was hot as she threw again and again. Her blue jewel glowed.

Mew Ichigo leapt around. She jumped around the swings and swipes of the copies. The ones that Bloom didn’t burn to a crisp found themselves at the mercy of her claws and the Strawberry Bell Bell. The green jewel started glowing.

Angel Lily held the Saint Spiral Whip in hand. Like Bloom she flew around and attacked from above. With her whip she both attacked and would pull another girl out of the way if they were about to be hit. She concentrated and summoned the Saint Strahl. With one hand she spun the Saint Strahl. Stars showered down upon Masticate. Her indigo jewel glowed.

Sailor Saturn closed her eyes while the violet jewel glowed. She could feel all five of them. They weren’t her friends and they weren’t Sailor Senshi, but she could feel their conviction, their hopes, their dreams and that they were almost kindred to Sailor Senshi. 

The six pieces of the Silver Crystal glowed brightly together. Each merged with the girl that held it, magnifying the strength and power they already possessed.

Sailor Saturn held the Silence Glaive out. She felt Mew Ichigo at her side. Ichigo reached out with her hand and clasped it over Saturn’s. One by one the others joined. The powers of a Sailor Senshi, a Love Angel, a Mew Mew, a fairy, a Puella Magi and a Pretty Cure merged.

An unnatural silence fell as the six girls launched their combined powers together, using the Silence Glaive as a conduit. Masticate and the Gates of Time were enveloped in light and then they were gone.

 

Mami sunk into a chair at the kitchen table. The cake was in the oven. All she had to do right now was to wait. She already had everything ready for decorating it.

“What are you cooking?” Bloom asked as she walked in. 

“A cake for after dinner. Have you decided what you are making?”

“Yeah, I’m going to make a pizza.”

The six girls lived together in the home that Hotaru had once shared with Setsuna, Haruka and Michiru. Setsuna had remarkable foresight and had already set things up so that Hotaru would be able to continue living here and be taken care of if something were to happen to the three older senshi. It had taken some work on getting paperwork for the five new residents, but Mami had experience with such things and both herself and Bloom were only too happy to use their magic to grease the wheels.

“I’m sure the others will love that.”

Being the oldest two it was usually Mami and Bloom that took charge of things like food and housework.

Bloom joined Mami at the table. She looked down at the ring form of Mami’s Soul Gem.

“Are all Soul Gems like that?”

“Yes, they all can take a ring form.”

“Is something bothering you?”

“Soul Gems are supposed to grow dimmer the more magic you use without cleaning it. Mine hasn’t gotten any darker. It is actually brighter than it used to be.”

“Maybe your piece of the Silver Crystal did it?”

The pieces had each merged with the girl who had wielded it in the battle that destroyed the Gates of Time.

“I hope so. I don’t know what would happen with the Law of Cycles if I used up all of my magic in this world.”

“I don’t want you to disappear.”

“You don’t?”

“No, we’re friends.”

“Bloom, I found a café that I would like to try. Would you come with me?”

“Sure, we can all go.”

“No, I think it might be a bit rich for the younger girls.”

“Alright, I’d love to go.”

 

“Come on, Hotaru.”

“Ichigo, slow down,” Hotaru panted. She was beginning to wish she had animal DNA in her. It would be the only way to keep up.

Ichigo turned ran full speed through the school gates. Hotaru was right on her heels. 

“We need to go faster.”

“I can’t go any faster.”

Ichigo turned back, scooped Hotaru up into her arms and then ran as fast as she could. Hotaru clung on, breathless. They barely made it to their seats on time.

 

There was a knock on the door of Yuri’s room. She was on her bed, paging through a fashion magazine.

“You can come in.”

The door opened just enough for Yayoi to slip in. She held her sketchbook tight.

“Hi, Yuri, I was wondering if you would help me with something.”

“What do you need help with?”

“I have a manga character called Miracle Peace. I-I’m trying to write a story about her saving a bride from a monster. Would you help me design the wedding dress?”

Yuri smiled, “My mother designed wedding dresses. I can help you with that.”

“Thank you, so much!”

 

Bloom swept the floor of Fairy Sweets. They had closed early today. Soon it would be host to some very special guests.

Beautiful pastries sat behind clear glass displays. The iron chairs rested upside down on the tables. The decorations reflected both Mami’s ladylike image and Bloom’s love of fantasy.

Mami was in the kitchen portion of the shop. She had cookies in the oven, filling the shop with their aroma. Her concentration was focused on the cake that she was decorating. This wasn’t a cake that was going to be for sale.

There was a knock at the front door. Bloom stopped her sweeping. She leant the broom against a display and walked to the front. Standing outside the door was Yayoi and Yuri. Their faces were red from the cold. Bloom unlocked the door and held it open for them.

“You two are early.”

“We managed to catch the early bus,” Yayoi said.

Both had their hands full of bags of food. They walked over to the one table that didn’t have chairs on top. Together the two girls unpacked the food, occasionally blushing and giggling. Bloom smiled and went back to her cleaning.

 

Hotaru still had nightmares about how the others died. She would wake up and cry softly, hoping no one had heard her. Someone always did. 

When she had those nights a small black cat would come into her bedroom. The cat would purr and meow, like it was telling her it was alright. It would curl up next to her and let Hotaru cry into its fur.

She learnt the cat’s secret when she kissed it on the nose.

Now, when she cried a black cat would still come into her room. Hotaru would cry in its fur and then kiss it on the nose. The black cat would turn back into Ichigo. Hotaru would hold onto her close and sleep in the comfort of the other girl’s embrace.

 

It was Yuri that asked Yayoi out. Yayoi had been stunned. She had never thought a sophisticated girl like Yuri would ask her out. Yayoi chirped out her agreement.

Yuri leant forward and gave her a kiss on the cheek. It hadn’t been hard to figure out how Yayoi felt about her, especially not when Miracle Peace had suddenly gained a female love interest in the manga.

She packed a picnic and the two went out to enjoy each other’s company for their first date.

 

Even though Bloom and Mami had opened a shop together, it took the two of them the longest to admit how they felt about each other. Each was secretly afraid of what the other could be and how they could be hurt.

“It seems like this place just can’t stay clean,” Bloom grumbled as she scrubbed the kitchen floor.

“That’s just how cafes and restaurants are.”

Bloom stood up, took off the yellow rubber gloves and placed them on a table. She made a quick gesture with her hand and with a flash of magic the entire kitchen was cleaned.

“Bloom, you can’t just do that!”

“No one was looking and I don’t use magic for everything.”

“What if you use up all of your magic?”

“We’ve already been over this. Fairies don’t run out of magic like that.”

“I know but…” Mami trailed off. She had spoken without really thinking. It wasn’t the first time that this had happened. “I just don’t want you to disappear. It scares me.”

Bloom took Mami’s hand in her own. “I won’t ever disappear. I promise.”

They looked into each other’s eyes and then they kissed.

 

Sailor Chibi Moon slept in a secret place. The Garnet Orb stood upright before her. It’s magic protected her from being wiped out of the timeline when Usagi and Mamoru died. It had been Sailor Pluto’s final act to protect Chibi Moon.

The red jewel from the Silver Crystal appeared above Chibi Moon. It lowered and merged with her brooch, taking the place that the full Silver Crystal would have occupied.

One day in the future she would wake up. For now, it was still time for her to rest until the Garnet Orb had her completely stabilized and protected from disappearing.


End file.
